Sundance Industries...say what?

Breakaway500 · Mar 18, 2017

Was talking to my FFL while he's doing paperwork..he hates that..(me too..) and I ask:
"What is the least expensive gun (firearm) in the shop?".
He reaches down,way down on the bottom shelf,in the back..pulls out this little black pistol and says:
"$125".
I laugh...and then start playing with it. Sundance? USA. Never heard of it. I thought it was a Jennings or a Raven etc. You know...the "junk".
Not bad..slides tight,trigger acceptable..not a revolver..not a PPK..but not bad. Looks unfired..and quite proudly states: "Made in the United States Of America" with "100% American parts". Teflon coated.How 90s! He has the original box..we were doing paperwork for a couple of other things...and I proclaim;
"I'll take the Sundance".
He gives me a look..."the look"... and I laugh and say;
".....so nobody else might buy it, and hurt themselves with it".

Just doing my part to get all those "Saturday night specials" off the streets. Poor orphans...

(It shoots the cartridge on the right..yea..sure...)

da gimp · Mar 18, 2017

Had never heard of it before your post. Let us know how it does and what ammo it likes.

dben002 · Mar 18, 2017

There is probably a good reason you have never heard of it and why it only cost $125.00. LGS probably made $50.00 profit...Think I would set up a remote firing station to test fire it with a long paracord tied to the trigger while standing behind a large tree 50 yards to the rear of the weapon.....Hopes all goes safe and well............

Breakaway500 · Mar 18, 2017

I've shot dozens of Jennings..Ravens..old revolvers..H&Rs...antiques..guns I've made..never, ever been harmed. Matter of fact..I carry a Kel-Tec P32 a lot..and everyone "knows" they are absolute trash!! I must be such a fool.

Funny how real life has taught me otherwise..

dben002 · Mar 18, 2017

Blue Book of Gun Values - SUNDANCE INDUSTRIES, INC. PISTOLS: SEMI-AUTO

mainegrw · Mar 18, 2017

That little A-25 looks neat, if I were in your shoes, I probably would have bought it as well. Don't know how well you did on the price though, Bluebook of Gun Values declares the value of one of these to be $65 in 100% condition. Any idea his old it is? Sundance Industries does not appear to be around anymore.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Breakaway500 · Mar 18, 2017

I've paid more for a good cigar lighter.

If my FFL made some money..that's a good thing. Sundance was primarily involved with Jennings/Raven etc..according to Wiki. Early 90s till 2002. Didn't last long as they mostly sold low end stuff. Still interesting to me as there was a time long ago, when all I owned was what I built myself, out of scary stuff..

God protects children and idiots..

Most of these were probably sold "back" to the govt. during all the "buyback" programs over the years. You know the ones that use tax dollars to "buy back" one of these "Saturday night specials" for $200. I may make a profit yet! If nothing else,I saved the taxpayers of the USA a potential $200 Govt. giveaway

If the govt never owned them in the first place,how are they buying it back? Must be govt. speak...

gman51 · Mar 18, 2017

I had a Phoenix HP22A that I bought new for $160 otd. Contrary to some saying the Phoenix is junk, this heavy all metal US made gun never once failed to go bang when the trigger was pulled. I couldn't say that for many of my other very much more expensive big name brand semi autos.

eveled · Mar 18, 2017

I have a Jennings that I traded for a box of 20 9mm's. It has been flawless. Not all junk is garbage.

Chefc14 · Mar 18, 2017

I had one, I bought it in 1991. Sundance was made in California, they went out if business I think in 1994 or 5. It came with a lifetime warranty. Mine broke a few years ago so I bought a new slide on line. I was shooting it one day and the slide just broke. I wouldn't have fixed it except my 14 year old daughter loved the gun. I sold it a few weeks ago for $60. The only reason I was able to is because I bought my daughter an NAA mini .22. I couldn't find a black slide so I picked up a chrome one. I no longer own any of the guns in this picture.

Chefc14 · Mar 18, 2017

Here's a link where you can find some parts. This is where I bought my slide. Parts appear to be drying up.
BOA SUNDANCE Accessories | Numrich Gun Parts

Breakaway500 · Mar 18, 2017

I hope to never shoot it enough to need to fix it. I bought a Jennings J22 a few months ago for laughs..same kind of story. Same condition pistol. I put about 6 mags through it without a fault the first day. No, I would not carry it to a gun fight..but I would stick it in my pocket out on the tractor, in case I see those damn groundhogs. I've popped a few with little pocket guns.Some on the run...

Engineer1911 · Mar 18, 2017

More firepower than a squirt gun or even a Super Soaker!

pharmer · Mar 18, 2017

I appreciate a decent "throwdown" except for the 30# trigger pull. It's like the "church key" in the bottom of the toolbox. Joe

DWalt · Mar 18, 2017

The main problem is the alloy slide. The firing pin hole on the breech face will peen closed from primer movement and in fairly short order it will seize the firing pin. Usually in less than 100 rounds. Fortunately, most who buy these will never shoot them that much.

gman51 · Mar 18, 2017

WOW Most will not shoot them 100 rounds. Less than 100 rounds before an expected failure makes it a pricey paper weight wouldn't you say?
Like they say not all are junk but you have to hope you got a fluke in the bunch.

Breakaway500 · Mar 19, 2017

A hundred rounds? Who wants to place a bet on this? I put 50 rounds through it yesterday..it didn't miss a beat,the breech still looks like new,and it was actually more accurate than I expected,keeping most aimed shots in 3" at 20 feet. So far the Sundance has malfunctioned less in 50 rounds than the Kahr PM9 I owned,which spit out the recoil spring in 4 rounds,and the 459 S&W that jammed on the very first shot.Both were purchased new..both are now history.Yes I know many autos need a break-in period..but after enough failures..you start to mistrust the weapon. Not for me..I expect them to be 100% out of the box.Every single Glock I own has been that way.(I own 7 of them currently)
Maybe I've been real lucky with these pocket autos..or maybe most of the stories are myths. Trigger pull is just under 12lbs. so no worse than my DAO S&Ws. I have over 300 rounds through the Jennings as it is a .22 and I have plenty of ammo for it. Not as accurate as the Sundance but has not malfunctioned once.
My Kel-Tec P32 has well over 2k rounds through it and has been rock solid dependable.When I first purchased it over 15 years ago,I was told to buy extra parts, as it was sure to eat itself up,according to what I had read and heard from non owners. I have never had to replace so much as a recoil spring or even the plastic guide rod. I bought a P3AT about 5 years ago and it has been just as reliable. I am wondering if some of the issues people have with these simple firearms is in how they handle and treat them.
Or maybe I must be blessed..

codenamedave · Mar 19, 2017

I can't be the only member who flashed to this thread when they saw the price:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/514224-some-type-hand-ejector-what.html

Sundance was part of the "Ring of Fire" gunmakers down in Southern California. A handful of companies, mostly related, putting out guns for po folks, what The State called Saturday Night Specials. The politicians, smelling a few leftist votes, regulated them out of business a long time ago.

I think the widely varied opinions on their reliability may come from different calibers. Back in the day somebody told me that the .25s tended to run okay, but the various models in .22LR didn't.

I remember one match where there was a couple of these guns (Ravens, IIRC) on the prize table, and people were walking past them to pick up ammo, knives, etc! I don't think they started to go until the second round.

Breakaway500 · Mar 19, 2017

Here is a photo of my well carried P32 and the extra parts (I bought over 10 years ago,haven't needed any of them) This little gun has taken 3 red squirrels,countless greys and 3 woodchucks..one that weighed over 15lbs!

Here is a photo of the breech face of the Sundance .25 auto after 50 rounds..it still looks pretty new,considering 1/2 it's life is over..

I'm thinking possibly some of these slides were manufactured and may have had a burr from drilling the firing pin hole,which then folded over and caused the firing pin to seize? Just a guess. I did take a sharp drill bit and put a chamfer on the firing pin hole,just as a precaution. I will keep an eye on it as the round count goes up..

It's actually a fun little gun...and cost me less than a good knife.

DWalt · Mar 19, 2017

Let me comment a little further on the "100 rounds failure". That may not be the case with a .22. Mine was a .380. I bought it from a guy who bought it for his girlfriend who never fired it and decided she didn't want it around the house. It had two full boxes of WWB .380 he bought with the gun. I paid $50 for the package, feeling that the ammo (at that time) was worth that. In any event, I got into using the second box and started having problems. Turned out the firing pin hole was seizing the firing pin. It was very evident that the metal around the firing pin hole in the breech had been pushed back by the primer impact, and was visibly recessed. At that point I quit using it. It's still somewhere in my garage, haven't seen it for years.

Sundance Industries...say what?

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